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Posted on May 28th, 2015

A short distance to the west of Coustellet, on the D900, we have seen substantial investment in a winery: Domaine des Peyres, which has been furnished with new buildings and sculptures. The new owner has also bought nearby Domaine Faverot, between Robion and Oppède. I have not yet sampled the wines but I admire his taste in cars. Every day there are at least ten valuable collectors items sitting out in a field in the sun. Sometimes the cars change, but they are always interesting. On show the day I visited were two Ferraris, a 1940s BMW cabriolet, an Aston Martin DB4, a Ford Thunderbird, an AC sportscar (forerunner of the Cobra) and Triumph and Mercedes sportscars.

Posted on May 22nd, 2015

Two good friends came to dinner the other night. We had prepared roast fillet of beef. He is in the wine trade so I pulled a small selection of red wines from the cellar, but did not open any, wanting to discuss preferences with him. The first thing he said upon arriving was: “You haven’t opened any wine yet, have you?” and produced three bottles of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. He had been meeting with his supplier for a tasting and brought the opened but almost-full bottles. And what a treat they were. Francis Usseglio arrived from Italy in 1931 and began making his own wines in Chateauneuf-du-Pape in 1948. His two sons Pierre and Raymond set up separate domaines in the 1960s, both carrying the family…

Posted on May 17th, 2015

Posted on May 15th, 2015

While out walking near the lavoir, close by the hameau of Saint Veran, I met a man who proudly showed me his find of the day. A morille mushroom, considered a delicacy in these parts. Also known as the morel or morchella, these edible mushrooms are prized by French chefs who prepare them sautéed with pepper and salt. Morilles are rare and more likely to be found in areas savaged by forest fires, though no-one knows why. The true morille has a honeycomb structure and should not be confused with false morels, which resemble wrinkled brains and can cause severe reactions if eaten in large quantities over several days.